重彩 (zhòng cǎi) — thick-color painting technique (using layered mineral pigments in traditional Chinese art)

Definition

A traditional Chinese painting technique that uses thick, layered mineral pigments to produce vivid, saturated colors — usually paired with 工笔画 (meticulous gongbi style).

noun
thick-color painting technique (using layered mineral pigments in traditional Chinese art)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 重彩，。
    Zhè fú huà yòng de shì zhòng cǎi jì fǎ, yán sè fēi cháng xiān yàn.
    This painting uses the thick-color technique, so the colors are very vivid.
  • 重彩。
    zhòng cǎi Shì zhōng guó chuán tǒng gōng bǐ huà de zhòng yào biǎo xiàn shǒu duàn.
    Thick-color is an important expressive medium in traditional Chinese gongbi painting.
  • 重彩。
    Tā zài zuò pǐn zhōng yòng le nóng mò zhòng cǎi lái tū chū zhǔ tí.
    He used bold brushstrokes and vivid colors in his work to highlight the theme.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

重zhòngthick
彩cǎicolor

Thick colors describe a painting technique using layered pigments.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi彩cǎi
Same sound today

彩 puts 采, which gives the sound, next to 彡, the three-stroke mark that carries the meaning.

Open 彩 →

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